I’m sure most of you have read the recent rumors about the SGA elections. The coverage in the CT, especially in the editorials, has been full of inaccuracies and exaggerations about my actions and my character. Students have the right to know the truth. Here is what really happened: I pride myself in being a religious person, and a moral person. This has been a part of my whole life, from relationships with my friends, to my future goals in human rights law and of course, this election. From the very beginning, when I was choosing running mates, it was made clear that this would be a clean, respectable campaign. I even met with my opponents, asking them to agree to be fair and respectful, and to keep lines of communication.
Our campaign was centered on one thing: The students. We started off talking to people one on one, listening to their ideas and what they needed improved. We continued doing this during voting. Some of you probably saw us outside in the cold from 8 a.m. to 1 a.m. every day of voting. That is why people voted for us, because we listened to them instead of throwing slogans and accusations about others in their faces. In fact, I can hardly count the number of students who came up saying how much they respected our determination and perseverance throughout those cold nights. This contact also helped our message spread, as students I had never even met before volunteered to help spread our message.
But I know you are still curious about the accusations. On the first issue of breaking the library policy by campaigning, I am not guilty. I never even campaigned in the library. I stood outside and talked to students, and was always polite. No one from the library ever complained to me. The outdoors is public space. Otherwise, students outside would not be allowed to smoke, and would need to have their VCU ID after 10 p.m. It’s pretty clear to see these allegations don’t make sense.
On the second issue of “parking ticket” fliers: I placed flyers on cars just like countless other student groups. They barely looked like tickets (if you want to see one, let me know), and the focus of them was on my plans to fix VCU parking, not on tricking people. In the end, less than 75 tickets were put out, and when I realized there was a problem, I even offered to remove them!
The last issue is about my candidate application. My vice president has been accused of forgery, because he filled out the candidate information sheet on my application. I gave him power of attorney to sign my packet so it cannot be considered forgery and is not illegal.
On the day in question I was having car trouble, and was afraid I couldn’t get back to Richmond in time to turn it in, so I asked him to do it for me. Surprisingly I did get back in time, looked over the info sheet to make sure he did it right, and turned it in. The form was valid because I considered it equal to one I would fill out myself. Had I broken my arm, and needed someone else to fill out my form, no one would think anything of it, because we all realize that we can give signing authority to another person.
So that’s it, the unbiased story of my campaign. But don’t just take our words for it. The student body judicial board also agreed that none of this created an unfair election. They spent days in hearings and discussions to ensure that justice was served, and I hope you will trust their response. Please, when the full judicial response is posted on www.vcusga.com, read it.
I’ve ignored the false and malicious allegations against me because I know we ran a great and positive campaign. I believe we need to spend our time working for students instead of throwing around malicious rhetoric and spreading inaccuracies. Thank you all so much for talking to us about your issues and what you wanted to change about VCU. I’ve been working hard since the elections to assemble a team of dedicated students to help me put your ideas into action. If you’re interested in joining SGA, please drop me an e-mail! Also, please visit the SGA discussion forums and Web site and see what I’m doing right now for you. And please feel free to e-mail me anytime to find out what I plan to do in the future, and to let me know any of your concerns. Thanks for your time.
-Jessica M. Lee
Student Body President-elect
When I opened the paper and read about how the SGA has been advocating better furniture in the Cabell Library, I was appalled to see that $300,000 had been allocated for new furniture. Clearly, the SGA has skewed priorities. Perhaps a better use for the money would be to buy new books and publications for Cabell Library. As anyone who has completed ENGL 200 knows, the books at Cabell Library are rather old. Books from the ’80s are not going to provide cutting-edge information for students nearing 2010.
Despite the best efforts of the library staff, the inter-library loan program is not sufficient to make up for this particular deficiency. Perhaps if the SGA were more concerned with quality of education than with appearances and ephemeral comfort, the student body as a majority would take them more seriously.
-Sam Sieg